Considered the “people’s literature” in the 17th century, broadside ballads were sold for a penny or halfpenny, their pairing of a comic or satiric song alongside a woodblock illustration making them popular bawdy amusement across classes.
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The Radical Art of Archiving Performance, as Practiced by Martha Wilson
The day after I went to go see the Martha Wilson: Downtown and Performing Franklin Furnace exhibitions in New York City, a friend brought me to a lecture-performance by Carolee Schneemann at a raw gallery space in Tribeca run by Hunter College.
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In Readers’ Hands, Archives Find New Contexts
Now more than ever archives are in a transition, one that offers an opportunity for new potential at a time when there’s nostalgia for old, dusty cardboard boxes.
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On the Brink of Extinction, an Indigenous Language Gets Its First Dictionary
Despite their important role in strengthening cultures and communities, languages are fragile things.
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Four Million Images from the World’s Endangered Archives
Despite the vast and growing resources available online, much of the world’s knowledge and history remains ephemeral and under threat of disappearance.
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Emma Goldman Papers Project Faces Uncertain Future
The 34-year-old Emma Goldman Papers Project is in limbo after losing its affiliation with UC Berkeley and running through its funding.
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British Library Says 6.5 Million Sounds Are in Jeopardy
Last week, the British Library launched a £40m ($60m) crowdfunding initiative to preserve its archive of over six million sound recordings.
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Tate Digitizes 52,000 Artifacts from the Lives of British Artists
Around 52,000 letters, sketchbooks, photographs, and other ephemera of 20th-century British artists will be accessible online by next summer. The first 6,000 items were revealed this month as part of the Tate Archive.
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30,000 Digitized Documents Retrace the Origin of ‘The Origin of Species’
The digitization of Charles Darwin’s scientific archive is half completed. When it’s finished, the project will allow researchers and anyone who’s curious to follow the steps that brought the 19th-century naturalist to formulate his evolutionary theory.
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Flash Back to 1991 with Access to the First US Website
Now you can go back to where the World Wide Web started in the United States with the country’s first website. Launched in December of 1991, the website for the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory had little more than text and a few links.
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Getty Adds Thousands of Art Historical Images to Growing Digital Library
Getting museum and library archives digitized is one thing; uniting them on a platform that’s uniform and accessible is another.
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In the Internet Archive’s Millions of Public-Domain Images, a Guide to Museum History
The Internet Archive is using public domain digitization to offer an entryway into its over 500 years of historical texts already online.